me to discuss the global unemployment problem and what it might mean for the future next admiral mike mullen is revising the military's agenda he's released a twenty one page document which changes from beginning to end on what needs to be changed to protect the u.s. well we can just summarize it into words i think global we'll talk with paul mccleary about the changing focus of the u.s. military and d.c. is becoming part of the primetime lineup a new show set in georgetown will show off the lives of the young rich affluent people of the d.c. neighborhood so could this combo of sex and politics be able to succeed where other shows based around d.c. have failed karen janabi will discuss with me at the end of the program but now. let's move on to our top story. it's day fifty mm for protests in egypt and i saw no clear leader to replace hosni mubarak at least from the people's perspective about hasn't stopped newly appointed vice president omar suleiman from taking charge artie's paul's lawyer tells us more about this man and sheds light on his relationship with us. horton to support the trans

we have heard some kind of praise almost from admiral mike mullen, the chief of staff. he seems to think that the army was behaving very well because of its calls to protesters not to lose, because of its recognition of what it called the disagreement of protesters -- calls to protesters not to loot, but the more the protests continue, the more there is a fear of continued chaos, and the tension could rise. the situation could change korea quickly on the ground. there is, of course, the fear of the sort of consequences this could have across the region, particularly when it comes to other american allies in the region, like the king of jordan and the king of saudi arabia. there was a condemnation of the protests in egypt, and they will look to see how they are handling this. if washington comes up too quickly for the departure of president mubarak, that would not have gone daunt -- down well with the king of jordan and others. it is really a complicated game that washington has to play here, and it does not seem that there is any way to satisfy everyone, the allies in t

bob gates to his counterpart, mike mullen to his, constant communication. the military was the best hope for transition in egypt and we will find out if it is not up to the task. >> although -- if it is up to the task. >> all those weapons say "made in the united states," colby. >> they are key to the transition. they can provide the stability. but the question is greater than egypt now. you can imagine in riyadh, kuwait, the gulf states, >> this week on "inside washington-- rif states, -- riyad, kuwait, gulf states, tel aviv. >> i think they're glad it turned out peacefully so far. one thing that strikes me about the whole experience, for three weeks or so these people have been in the streets. really you had one bloody day. given the number people down there, it is remarkable that more were not killed. this is our first glimpse of the egyptian people. we don't really know them. i think they have shown remarkable tenacity, smarts, patients. >> encourage. -- and that courage. >> and that courage, yes. we don't know what is going to happen. but this is basic

senators john mccain, carl levin and jack reed, even joint chiefs chairman admiral mike mullen. >> what was the intent? were there any regulations violated? if there was, there has to be suitable punishment for violations. >> but when holmes objected he was shocked by the response from one commander. >> he screamed at me literally. he screamed at me in front of witnesses and said if i tell you to do it, it's not illegal anymore. it was just crazy. it was surreal. >> reporter: intelligence experts agree. >> you've got people trained in propaganda whose job it is to bamboozle the enemy apparently attempting to bamboozle senators. >> reporter: pentagon officials say it's not clear there was ever any intent to manipulate anyone. to make sure, general david petraeus has ordered a three-star general to conduct a full investigation. jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pentagon. >>> big story out of texas tonight. a college student from saudi arabia under arrest, accused of planning to build and set off bombs in terrorist attacks around the united states. the fbi says this case broke open only beca

admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs, will meet with jordan's king abdullah and prime minister benjamin netanyahu of israel to reassure them of u.s. support. >>> and a program note. david gregory will have much more on the revolution in egypt tomorrow on "meet the press," and as congress prepares to take on major legislation, a sunday exclusive with house speaker john boehner. that's tomorrow morning here on nbc. >>> when "nightly news" continues this saturday evening, a deadly explosion raises new questions about the safety of america's gas pipelines. we'll be right back. >>> there are new questions about the safety of this country's gas pipelines, millions of miles of them, after a series of explosions this week, including one in pennsylvania that left five people dead. nbc's tom costello has more tonight. >> oh, my god. this is beyond belief. >> reporter: the gas line explosion late thursday night shook the town of hanoverton, ohio, and sent residents fleeing. while no one was injured, it followed a horrific scene in allentown, p.a., wednesday. >> i heard an awful bang and i

. >> admiral mike mullen said he was assured it would not fire on their own people. >> the army would lose its status as the one institution that is universally respected. the army and has the prestige of having to lead a resolution against the monarchy in 1952 and the success of the october war in 1973 and the restoration of the egyptian pride. it carries the hopes and the respect of the country. the problem is this -- the most organized a political institution in the country, partly as a result of the mubarak repression, is the muslim brotherhood. they are not democrats, i can assure you of that. and as, for example, is the palestinian a week -- hamas, for example, is the palestinian wing of the brotherhood. unless there is a transition to democrats who are disorganized and this united to coalesce and prepare for elections, the brother road winds, and then you get what you have in iran. >> president mubarak told christiane amanpour of abc news that if he resigns now, there will be chaos and he is afraid that the muslim brotherhood will take over. >> before you get to the malls and o

defense secretary robert gates, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen and other u.smilitary officials at all levels are contacting their egyptian counterparts. the egyptian army's moves are being closely watched amid the deepening confrontation between mubarak supporters and opponents. the u.s. government provides more than $1.2 million in annual aid and helped to train senior officers for more than three decades. >>> we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

meanwhile, america's top military officer, admiral mike mullen said the unrest in the middle east caught the u.s. by surprise. mullen says the u.s. military stands ready to provide any support egypt may need. >>> the u.s. embassy in cairo is bringing in charter flights as needed to evacuate american citizens from egypt. more americans are trying to leave cairo as the anti-american sentiment grows. so far the u.s. has flown out some 2,200 u.s. citizens. >> it got kind of violent yesterday with the demonstrations and our apartment, our hospital, is right next to the river. so we decided it would be a lot safer and our parents were really worried about us. >> we were warned to stay away from the protest because we could become targets as americans. >> the u.s. embassy is saying anyone who wants to leave now should get out now. the united nations began evacuating its staff on thursday. >>> back home that massive winter storm that covered a huge portion of the country has been replaced by bitter cold. windchills plunged to 30 below in some places. another storm system is making its way from t

now you know paul so let's let's say a little bit into mike mullen who released a new military strategy today for the first time in seven years and basically he was saying that we have to think global we can't just focus on iraq and afghanistan anymore you know we have to start moving on but i'm confused because i thought we were already i thought that we already have thousands of military bases around the world and that. you know that we were waging shadow wars in countries like yemen and what's so different about this documents like this. are worth the kind of are worthwhile in that they kind of reset the debate but they don't really do much i mean they don't say this talking doesn't give any specific steps that we're going to take next and says you know we need to think globally as you said but i think what they mean by that is not sending special ops forces all over the world to take people out and what they mean is. training and advising local police forces local military local coastguard that's a big thing for a kind of piracy that's i'm doing a lot of especially in africa with af

that along with obama's decision to send mike mullen to jordan and israel where he will attempt to reassure two of america's closest allies. we'll get the latest in a moment. >>> we're also following other stories back here at home including one from texas that has a lot of people talking. this teenaged beauty queen says she was stripped of her title because she gained too much weight. she says pageant officials scolded her about it and even told her to, quote, get off the tacos. but pageant officials are telling a very different side. we'll talk to the beauty queen live. >>> also we're beginning a new series on unexplained mysteries. we'll start off with one of the most famous claims of alien abduction on record, where a group of men swear they had a close encounter with alien life and they all passed lie did he te detector tests. >> and today our weekend with the one and only joan rivers.li detector tests. >> and today our weekend with the one and only joan rivers.ie detector tests. >> and today our weekend with the one and only joan rivers. l it until you see her apartmenter and even her

we're going to talk live to chairman of the joint chiefs, admiral mike mullen. he's live in our studio for a "gma" exclusive. >>> but what does this mean for the u.s. and our relationships more importantly in the middle east. >> let's get right away to cairo, and christiane amanpour in that exclusive interview with president mubarak. christiane? >> reporter: good morning, george. and indeed, today, as those huge crowds come out to give yet another massive signal to president mubarak the army is taking a more proactive role to keep the two sides apart. it was, if you like, an accidental interview i had. i went for a meeting with the new vice president. and i was taken to see president mubarak, without a camera. we did speak for 20 to 30 minutes. we took some still pictures. he said i could report what we had talked about. and this is how it went. within minutes, i was whisked in a stately reception room where i came face to face with the man at the center of this storm, egyptian president, hosni mubarak. the president greeted me warmly. and i asked how he was. he

but please join me in welcoming the chairman of the joint chiefs, admiral mike mullen. [applause] >> thank you madam secretary. i certainly appreciate that kind introduction, and just the introduction alone says an awful lot about the time we have spent together and certainly not just myself and bob gates, but so many in this room who work so closely with those of us in the pentagon. i would hope to leave several messages today but first of all one of them would he just to say thanks, thanks for what you do, thanks for what you do for our country and thanks for what you do for people around the world. certainly as someone that grew up in the navy, i was trained very early in ports around the world how important a country team was and actually it was a very well blended interagency team in whatever country i existed, and so came to have an understanding about that and certainly look at that at a much higher level and can't say enough about the importance of the team right now. as someone who has spent over four decades in the military, i am very fond of saying that you k

among those targeted, senators john mccain, joe lieberman and even admiral mike mullen of the joint chiefsstaff. that's all according to a new "rolling stones" article. the top commander in afghanistan has ordered an investigation into these claims. >>> still ahead, sleek legs could just be minutes away. >> we'll tell you about a new varicose vein treatment you can do on your lunch break. >>> a real heart-stopper of a restaurant. we're talking about candy, twinkies, pizza. the bay area diner that's not afraid to deep fry its ent.afnu one town near the bay area is thriving like never before. >> we can be looking at 50% increases. >> in fact, planners expect 2011 to be nothing less than a windfall for their coffers. >> very significant. c what is their secret and why boue se g ina nddangldouer be seg s ouindangerous precedent. . >>> well, certainly here in california we live april culture that's become more health conscious over the years. nowhere is that more true than in the city of berkeley. >> sometimes it's nice to go against the flow. this berkeley restaurant unlike the others. here is

admiral mike mullen, the president's top military adviser appeared on "the daily show" with jon stewart. this is what he said. >> i think actually it's taken not just us but many people by surprise. >> how is that possible, senator? after 9/11 with our intelligence focused on the region that the administration could be surprised by what has turned out to be a revolution sweeping the middle east? >> i will tell you easily. i don't think there is a mystery in it, david. there is no surprise that there was pent-up demand. no surprise that we needed to have reform. the fact is a year ago i gave a speech in which i laid out much of what needed to be done in the region. secretary of state clinton, only three weeks ago, made a very dramatic, tough statement in which she said, unless there is reform, unless arab leaders move to deal with the problems this is an area that's sinking into the sand. it was a very dramatic statement. what happened in tunisia is what triggered this. what happened on facebook and twitter is what drove it. frankly, the muslim brotherhood was taken by surprise. everybod

. >> lehrer: defense secretary robert gates and the joint chiefs chairman, admiral mike mullen, went before the armed services committee. they agreed on the need for belt-tightening, but not at the risk of u.s. strategic interests. >> refrench. brought about by shortsighted cuts could well lead to costlyer and more tragic consequences later. indeed, as they always have in the past. >> lehrer: president obama's military budget for the coming fiscal year includes more than $550 billion. it seeks another $118 billion to cover the costs of war operations. in a major cost-saving move, it calls for reducing the size of the army and marine corps, starting in 2015. that last item did not sit well with committee chairman buck mckeon, a republican from california. >> the savings apraerz to be generated with reductions to army and marine corps in the 2015 to 2016 time frame. the decision to reduce strength seems premature given the uncertainty in predicting the full range of force and manpower requirements in afghanistan after 2014. >> just three years ago we had 190,000 troops combined in iraq

so we are very fortunate to have mike mullen here today. he has graciously offered to make some remarks, but then he wants to answer questions. and when he finishes his remarks, we will have the press leave, so you can ask him anything. [laughter] if that isn't inviting enough, we will think of something else. [laughter] please join me in welcoming the chairman of the joint chiefs, admiral mike mullen. [applause] >> thank you, madame secretary. i certainly appreciate that kind introduction, i just the introduction alone says a lot about the time wwe have spent together, and certainly not just myself and bob gates, but so many in this room who worked so closely with those of us in the pentagon. i would hope to leave the several messages today, but first of all, one of them would be just to say thanks. thanks for what you do, thanks for what you for our country, and thanks for what you do for people around the world. certainly, as someone who grew up in the navy, i was trained very early part of the world how important the country team was, a

admiral mike mullen is on his way to meet with counterparts in both jordan and israel. the big question is, will this spread now? >> everybody has been looking at that. there's been protests in jordan, around the area, lebanon, syria, yemen. all those areas. and, of course, reaction has already happened. in jordan, they changed the government. in yemen, they said they're not going to stand -- the president will not stand for re-election, nor will his son. in iraq, even, when america brought democracy with a gun with an invasion, the prime minister will not run for a third term. it is having an impact. if it goes democratic, for the region and for the united states and for israel, it will be a major victory. >> and what is now to become of hosni mubarak? we do know he's in sharm el sheikh now. is he relevant at all? and will there be trials to go after him and his fortune? >> look, you heard people talking in the square about what the people want to happen to him. but before, people were saying, we respect your history, hosni. but now, it's time to go. we want to give yo

as obama faces the decisions he also has a very fine chief of staff, mike mullen who has served in vietnam and he does call for a review of the armed forces as they stand after ten years of continuous combat and he is concerned about the impact on the men and women who are fighting. he is concerned about the psychological impact of the general's directing it. i think he is concerned about some indications of neo conservative thinking that appear in some senior officers after they have departed. so he has called a very fine conference to be held but beyond what the individual officials are doing, there are two statements and two philosophies at stake here. and that is what kind of a country do we think we are, what kind of a country do we want to become? one of the opinions is forced very eloquently in the limits of power. he is a retired full colonel in iraq and is teaching at boston university. he begins to quote brian hold, the great theologian and philosopher who came up here and spoke when i was an undergraduate. he says the essence of statehood is locating the point of concurrence bet

with admiral mike mullen traveling to jordan to do that. this as the impact of the egyptian revolution spreads. the earthquake of egypt's revolution from tahrir square in revolution in tunisia has the entire region in tremors. in algeria, young people called on their president to resign saturday, to sign a government ban on protests. an estimated 400 people were arrested but the opposition vowed demonstrations until it brings down the regime. in yemen sunday, violent clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters trying to reach the capital of sana's. yemen has seen a sharp increase in islamic fundamentalism and is home to one of the most protent branches of al qaeda. in jordan, a key u.s. ally, thousands filled the streets demanding democratic and economic reform. so far, not the overthrow of the king. jordan, syria, kuwait and bahrain have all called for reforms or financial subsidies to appease citizens. in the palestinian territory saturday, leaders suddenly set presidential and parliamentary elections by september in the we

stay tuned for live updates on "america this morning" and later joint chiefs of staff chairman mike mullen squared off ahead of the big game. >> that's right. they gathered in their respective cities to attempt a world record for the most simultaneous high-fives. about 700 fans turned out in green bay and pittsburgh did a little better with a crowd of more than 1,000 strong. >> a lot of high-fivers. neither side made the cut, falling far short of the 1800 people needed. i guess they should leave the competition to the players, huh? >> it's cold. >> but still, that's way short, man. >> i know. >> huh? i think you have to hold it, right? >> that's weird to hold it. >> that's what i thought, they were holding it. maybe that's why they didn't make the record. >> maybe. fists. >> a new record. we're starting now. >> more "world news now" after this. he's single and i'm going to introduce you in two weeks so whiten your teeth. no coffee. [ female announcer ] crest 3d white toothpaste removes up to 80% of surface stains in just two weeks. hi. [ female announcer ] for a noticeably whiter smile. cr

joint chiefs of staff chairman admiral mike mullen will meet with jordanian officials tomorrow in omanment protests. although the numbers are diminishing. later he travels to israel, jordan and egypt are the only arab nations that have made peace with israel. >>> president obama's proposed budget calls for a combination of spending cuts and increases. in his weekly radio and internet address, mr. obama says spending increases are needed for education, technology, and to repair roads and bridges. now at the same time he is calling for an overall freeze in annual domestic spending for the next five years. the government faces a projected $1.5 trillion deficit this year. republicans say mr. obama's spending cuts don't go far enough. >>> a georgia woman has jumped off of a bridge to save her life. 22-year-old bianca vera plunged 40 feet off of a highway bridge into the icy waters of lake lanier to avoid a semi truck bearing down on her. it happened after her car slid into a bridge guardrail and she got out of the car to take a look. she managed to get to shore and then call for help. the s

meanwhile, mike mullen is also in the gulf region for meetings with leaders in saudi arabia, qatar, anded arab emirates, and kuwait. his spokesperson says that he will make clear his desire to see that peaceful protest be allowed to continue without threats or violence. there was more violence today in northern afghanistan. an attack happened outside a government office where people were waiting in line for government id cards. authorities say a suicide bomber killed at least 30 people. violence has been on the rise in the north, where there are known hideout for militant factions. those are some of the latest headlines. >> we provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books, and american history. it is all available to you on television, on-line, and on social media networking sites. find our content any time on our c-span network video library. it is washington, your way. the c-span networks. now available in more than 100 million homes, created by cables, provided as a public service. host: pete sepp of the national taxpayers union, what kind of overt tax increases has

so i think the chairman, mike mullen, or whoever the chairman of the joint chiefs and the joint chiefs can do that just as well as having a separate command. and again, i say we have to make some hard decisions. and we are cutting the heart out of the domestic programs of this country and defense has to give something up here, and this with i think if you look at the various commands, this one makes as much sense and the secretary of defense has made the decision and it's supported by the top members of the joint staff and for that reason i regretfully have to object and oppose the amendment. mr. forbes: mr. chairman, would the gentleman yield for questions. mr. dicks: of course. mr. forbes: i would ask all this amendment does is give us until september 30 to answer those questions. all the leases are in effect. they can't be changed until that period of time. so we're not talking about costs. this is the question i would ask the gentleman. you mentioned the joint chiefs of staff had the authority to be that joint provider and to allocate those troops. i would ask the gentleman if in f

as admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has said, this is our biggest national security threat. my amendment would cut 10% from the department of defense's budget. d o.d.'s -- d.o.d.'s r&d spending has increased more than any other category. their evaluation budget that is increased 63% over the last 10 years, rising from 49.2 -- from $49.2 billion in 2001 to $80.2 billion in fy-2010. this is 33% more than the cold war peak in real terms, even though today we face no traditional adversary comparable to the soviet union. further in 2009, r&d spending exceeded china's entire defense budget. the world's second largest, largest by 10.-- by $10.5 billion. surely as we look for places to balance the budget and in light of the vast superiority of our r&d budget, we can afford to reduce spend big ten%. a number of fiscal commissions and watchdog groups agree that d.o.d. research and development should be cut and propose a number of proposals to reduce the development the sustainable defense task force a panel of defense experts from across the political spectrum recentl

admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has said i think the biggest threat we have to our nation, national security is our debt. erskine bowles, president clinton's former chief of staff and co-chair of president obama's deficit commission who said, this debt is like a cancer. it is truly going to destroy the country from within. just how bad is our fiscal situation? well, i've just run two back-to-back trillion-dollar-plus deficits and we're in track to run a third one. we're spending at levels as a share of the economy not seen since world war ii. we are borrowing 40 cents on the dollar, deriving our already $14 trillion in debt even higher. cutting spending is a solution to putting our budget back on a sustainable fiscal path. however, my friends on the other side of the aisle would have you believe that we do not have to cut spending. this just isn't the case. however, you don't have to take my word for it. in his written testimony from his recent appearance in front of the house budget committee, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said, one way or another, f

as obama faces these decisions, he also has a very fine chief of staff of the armed forces, mike mullen, who has served india, it and he just called -- who has served in vietnam. and his call for a review of the armed forces as they stand after 10 years of continuous combat. and he is concerned about the impact on the men and women who are fighting. he is concerned about the psychological impact of the generals directedness. i think he is concerned about some indications of neoconservative thinking that appear in some senior officers after they had departed. so he is called i think a very fine conference to be held. but beyond what the individual officials are doing, there are two statements, two philosophies at stake here. and that is, what kind of the country do we think we are? what kind of a country do we want to become? one of the opinions is voiced very eloquently i and two in the limits of power. he retired full colonel, lost a son in iraq, now teaching at boston university. and he begins to quote reinhold, the great theologian and philosopher who came up here and spoke at willia

he was joined by admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff for testimony before the house armed services committee. this portion of the hearing is a little less than two hours. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> good morning ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today as we consider the presence fiscal year 2012 budget request for the department of defense. on monday i had the opportunity to sit down the secretary gates to discuss his request. based on the information i received i'm place to say that the budget continues to support our military men and women fighting in iraq, afghanistan and elsewhere. the budget provides much-needed increases in several key areas such as military personnel and missile defense. i am also pleased that the department is taking our nation's financial position into account and has identified savings from lower priority programs and efficiencies that can be reinvested into force structure and modernization. as chairman i too am concerned that every dollar be invested in core missions

in fact, admiral mike mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the highest ranking mill tarial in this country -- mill tar official in this country, said a few months back that the greatest threat to america's national security is our national debt. now, that speaks volumes. because the threats that we face abroad are great, and grave. islamic extremism and unstable middle east, potential will he nuclear -- potentially nuclear iran and china and their growing military capability and a dangerous north korea armed with nuclear weapons. the only thing more alarming than these threats is the president's weak response. we can't win the peace with apologies and reset buttons and deep cuts to our national defense. and we can't win the peace. if we don't tell it like it is. and an act of terrorism is just that. terrorism. calling it a -- it only makes us question this administration's will. to defeat it. we face serious challenge that require solutions. can we live in any other country in the world, i would be worried whether or not we were up to the job. but the american way is to

as obama faces these decisions, he has a very fine chief of staff of the armed forces, mike mullen, whoin vietnam. he has just called for a review of the armed forces as they stand after 10 years of continuous combat. he is concerned about the impact of the men and women who are fighting. he is concerned about the psychological impact of the general's directing this. i think he is concerned about some indications of neo conservative thinking that appears in some officers after they have departed. he has called a very fine conference to be held. but beyond what the individual officials are doing, there are two statements and to philosophies at stake here. that is what kind of country do we think we are? what kind of country do we want to become? one of the opinions voiced very eloquently. he is a retired full colonel who lost a cent in iraq. he is now teaching at boston university. he quotes the great theologian and philosopher who spoke at williams what i was an undergraduate. he says, "the essence of statehood is locating the point of concurrence between the parochial and the general i

in fact, admiral mike mullen the chairman of joint chiefs of staff, the highest-ranking military officialntry said a few months back that the greatest threat to america's national security is our national debt. now, that speaks volumes because the threats that we face abroad are great and grave. islamic extremism, and unstable middle east, potentially nuclear iran, and china with its growing military capability. and a dangerous north korea armed with nuclear weapons. the only thing more alarming than these threats is the president's weak response. we can't win the peace with apologies and reset buttons and deep cuts to our national defense. we can't win the peace if we don't tell it like it is an act of terrorism is just that, terrorism. [applause] >> calling it a man cost disaster doesn't change the gravity of the threat. it only makes us question this administration's will to defeat it. [applause] >> you know, we face serious challenges that require serious solutions. if we lived in any other country in the world i would be worried whether or not we were up to the job. but the american